Age Discrimination

I am an engineer, with 17+ years of experience and was downsized 5 years ago. I have been unable to secure a position since then and I have started my own consulting business which is not doing well. I am in the 45-50 age bracket and considered 'old', ˜overqualified', etc. I had bosses who were mean and coworkers who were sometimes sexually aggressive, other times chauvinistic, and I lost some jobs because I stood up to my bosses/coworkers. Now, I cannot secure even interviews. The problem is: Why am I turning recruiters/employers off?